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JOHN 10:3 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
John 10:2John 10:4
“To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out — the gatekeeper (ho thyroros) is a figure of divine authority who recognizes and permits the true shepherd's entrance, suggesting the Father's validation of Jesus' authority. The sheep recognize their shepherd's voice (a Hebrew concept from Psalm 23 and Isaiah 40:11), demonstrating that authentic leadership is recognized by the flock through relationship, not coercion. Jesus calling the sheep by name indicates intimate, personal knowledge — the shepherd knows each sheep individually, as God knows His people by name (Isaiah 43:1). This personal calling contrasts with the impersonal control of thieves and robbers.

Church Fathers on John 10:3

Our Lord having reproached the Jews with blindness, they might have said, We are not blind, but we avoid you as a deceiver. Our Lord therefore gives the marks which distinguish a robber and deceiver from a true shepherd. First come those of the deceiver and robber: Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. There is an allusion here to Antichrist, and to certain false Christs…

Chrysostom · 4th century

Many go under the name of good men according to the standard of the world, and observe in some sort the commandments of the Law, who yet are not Christians. And these generally boast of themselves, as the Pharisees did; Are we blind also? But inasmuch as all that they do they do foolishly, without knowing to what end it tends, our Lord said of them, Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a…

Augustine · 4th century · Or thus

Or, the Holy Spirit is the porter, by whom the Scriptures are unlocked, and reveal the truth to us.

Theophylact · 11th century
Read all 17 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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